PROVIDENCE — Close to a thousand people packed a Providence church last night to launch a national “family unity” campaign designed to draw attention to the disruptive effects of the country’s immigration policies. Organizers said their goal is President Obama’s signature on comprehensive immigration reform.

The 17-city “listening tour” is being led by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Conducted through faith-based organizations, the tour will gather “the human stories of the impact of immigration policies” on “mixed-status” families, including U.S. citizens, and bring them to Washington, D.C., in April.

“We have five million citizen children wondering whether their parents will be there when they get home from school” each day, Gutierrez told an overflow crowd at Trinity Methodist Church on Broad Street.

The congressman and other speakers said mass raids and deportations are tearing apart families whose members include a mix of citizens or legal residents, and undocumented immigrants. Gutierrez asked, “Which half [of the mixed family] are we going to deport? Which half isn’t really our concern? I think both are our responsibility.”

“We want President Obama to keep his promise … to bring people out of the shadows,” he said.

Eight-year-old Jeidi Par — one of three U.S. citizen children affected by parent deportations who spoke to the crowd last night — recounted how immigration agents “seized my father when he was taking out the trash” last September.

Her father, who had applied for asylum years ago but was rejected, has now been deported. The girl said she worries that her mother — who is also in the country illegally — could be deported.

“I beg that you ask President Obama to stop deportation of my mom, and bring my dad back,” Jeidi Par said.

Melissa Arias, 9, also spoke. Her father is facing orders to leave the country by June 12, after entering the country illegally years ago.

In a letter to Mr. Obama, Arias said, “We were a really happy family … why do they take him away if he is not a criminal? I am afraid immigration will go to his work and take him away. The only thing I wish is not to get separated from him.”

Gutierrez said he started the campaign in Rhode Island “because I kept getting told about the city’s large, faith-based immigrant community.”

The congressman said immigration reform should put people on a path to legality.

“That means if you are working hard and paying taxes, and have committed no crimes and you’ve never had any criminal contact with the law — other than your immigration status, we’re going to give you the opportunity to earn your legalization,” he said.

“We want people to take English classes, take civics lessons, get a good Social Security number and pay taxes. And after seven or eight years, if you do it right, then we will say, ‘Welcome.’ ”

The “family unity” campaign got under way amid national developments on the immigration front.

This week, Rep. Lucille Royball-Allard, D-Calif., introduced legislation to adopt “humane and legally enforceable standards” for immigration detention facilities. The American Civil Liberties Union cited the death of Hiu Lui Ng, a former immigration detainee at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, as one of three recent detainee deaths underscoring urgency for the bill

Gutierrez told the audience he spoke with new U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano after a raid in Bellingham, Wash., this week.

“She was a breath of fresh air,” Gutierrez said of Napolitano. “And you know what? She told me that raid was done with out her knowledge, and she was deeply disturbed because of that action. She’s going to take a complete review.” He said her response marked “a new time, and a new day.”

After last night’s program, volunteers took further “testimony” from families who may be at risk of deportation, and people signed a petition calling for comprehensive immigration reform.

“We are going to take these testimonies, and when they reach Washington, this is going to move a mountain,” said the Rev. Eliseo Nogueras, president of the Hispanic Ministerial Alliance of Rhode Island.

kziner@projo.com